Pick-proof partitioned pocket



Nov. 11, 1958 c. D. ELLISON PIcx-PRodF PARTITIONED POCKET Filed Aug. 5, 1955 .uvmvrox. C/zagles llEZlisozz ATTORNEY United States Patent PICK-PROOF PARTITIONED POCKET Charles D. Ellison, Glen Burnie, Md.

Application August 5, 1955, Serial No. 526,795

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-253) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec. 266) 'The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

My invention relates to garment pockets and more particularly to such pockets as include structure to prevent the picking thereof by pickpockets. The pickpocket usually operates by either cutting through the outer garment into the interior of the pocket or by simply inserting his hand gently into a pocket and carefully removing the contents thereof without disturbing the wearer of the garment. The garment material may be armored with interwoven metal wires or the like to prevent a pickpocket from cutting into the pocket. However, the other form of pocket picking is diflicult to prevent although attempts have been made in the past to devise pick-proof pockets by providing therewith button-down flaps or the like. Such flaps overlie the pocket opening and as they frequently lose their buttons which are not usually replaced the flaps are ineffective for the purpose intended as they may be raised to expose the pocket opening without warning the victim.

With the foregoing in view, it is an object of my invention to provide an improved pick-proof pocket which includes a novel pocket closing flap.

A further object is to provide in a pick-proof pocket a novel arrangement of the flap in the pocket which makes it virtually impossible for a thief to abstract an object from the pocket without drawing attention to himself.

A further object is to provide a structure such as that last described in combination with a partition dividing a pocket into two compartments.

A further object is to provide a novel partition type pick-proof pocket formed from a single blank of material.

Other objects and advantages reside in the particular structure of the several forms of the invention, the'structure of the several elements forming the same, combinations and subcombinations of such elements, all of which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the attached drawing in connection with the following specification,-wherein the invention is shown, described and claimed.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a garment showing a pocket according to the invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of one form of pocket according to the invention, parts of the garment being omitted;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the plane of the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a composite view showing the blanks for forming the pocket of Figs. 2 to 4 inclusive;

Fig. 6 is a like view of a blank for forming a modified form of the invention;

2,859,449 Patented Nov. 11; 1958 Fig. 7 is a sectional view like Fig. 2 but showing a pocket formed from the blank of Fig. 6 apart from the garment; and

Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the plane of line 88 of Fig. 7.

Referring specifically to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like parts in all views, 10 designates generally a garment such as a coat having an in ner lining 11 which is formed with a substantially horizontal slot or pocket opening 12 providing the entrance to an inside pocket which is generally indicated at 13;

The pocket 13 is best seen in Figs. 2 to 4, inclusive, and comprises a back panel 14 having opposite side edges which are hingedly connected to a first side panel 15 and a second side panel 16. The fold lines 17 and 18 which connect the side panels 15 and 16, respectively, to the back panel 14 are preferably parallel as shown. The first side panel 15 has an upper edge 19 which is disposed on a higher plane than the upper edge 20 of the second side panel 16. Also, the back panel 14 has an upper edge 21 which is located on a higher plane than either of the upper edges 19 and 20 as aforesaid. The forward surface of the back panel 14 has secured thereto in any suitable manner a depending flap 22 which includes a free lower edge 23 disposed below the plane of the upper edge 20 of the panel 16. Preferably, the flap 22 is secured to the forward face of the back panel 14 by a horizontal line of stitching 24 located well above the lower edge 23. The flap 22 is formed of lining material and extends entirely across the pocket opening 12 thus concealing the fact that it is a flap.

To form the pocket, the flap 22 is first stitched to the back panel 14 as aforesaid. Interengaging separable fastener elements 25 and 26 of any suitable and well known form such as snap fasteners are secured respectively to the flap 22 on the outer surface thereof and the second side panel 16 on the front surface thereof adjacent the upper edge 20. Fastener elements 25 and 26 lie on the same horizontal plane. The pocket 13 may now be formed by folding the second side panel '16 over the back panel 14 and flap 22 and then folding the first side panel 15 over both the second side panel 16 and the back panel 14. With the panels so folded, the flap 22 underlaps panel 16 and the fastener elements 25 and 26 are in registry and may be detachably secured together. Thus, instead of conventionally overlapping the panel 16, the flap is secured to the inner surface of such flap so as to underlap the same for a purpose to be apparent hereinafter. The lower edges of the panels 14, 15, and 16 may now be secured together in any suitable manner so as to close the bottom of the pocket and the free edges of the panels 15 and 16 may be secured to the back panel 14 in any suitable manner to complete the assembly. In this connection, it should be noted that the side panels 15 and 16 are of substantially the same width as the back panel 14 but may be very slightly narrower to prevent wrinkling of the side panels when in the folded, pocket-forming positions.

To assemble the pre-forrned pocket to the garment 10, the same is inserted through the slot 12 so as to lie between the lining 11 and the outer garment material, not shown. The pocket should be arranged so that the upper edge 19 of the first side panel 15 is substantially flush with the lower edge 8 of the slot 12. The upper edge 19 may now be secured to the lining 11 in any suitable manner as by the stitching 27, Fig. 3. This arrangement locates the upper edge 21 of the back panel 14 substantially above the slot 12 and the stitching 24 securing the flap 22 to the back panel may coincide with the stitching securing that portion of the pocket to the upper edge 7 of the slot 12. Of course, this locates the upper edge 20 of the second side panel 16 substantially below the lower edge 8 of the slot 12 so as to be out of sight at all times.

It is apparent from the foregoing, that the pocket may function as the normal inside pocket using only that portion or compartment designated 3.0 which lies between the partition providing second panel 16 and the front or first side panel 15. The second or concealed compartment is designated at 31 and is disposed between the partition panel 16 and the back panel 14. The compartment 31 is normally closed by the engagement of the snap fastener elements or the like 25, 26. Whenit is necessary to carry an object in the secret compartment 31 and more particularly when the object is an envelope or the like which is of length which normally would cause it to protrude through the slot 12 the fastener elements 25 and 26 are disconnected and the flap 22, raised to permit the compartment 31 to be used. Thereafter, the flap 22 is reinserted into the compartment 31 and the fastener elements 25 and 2-6 rte-engaged. Thus, not only is the object in the compartment 31 concealed but it is secured against accidental loss by the flap 22. It is likewise secured against pickpockets because it is virtually impossible for such a person to reach through the slot 12, disengage the fastener elements 25 and 26 and withdraw the flap 22 from the compartment 31 without apprising the garment Wearer of his activities. Even if the fastener elements 25 and 26 are omitted, as may be desirable, the thief would still have to withdraw the flap 22 from inside the compare ment 31 which would most likely apprise the coat wearer of the attempted theft.

In the form of the invention of Figs. 6 to 8, a similar structure is disclosed, but here the pocket 33 and flap 42 are made of a single blank as shown in Fig. 6. Thus, the blank comprises a back panel 34, a first side panel 35 and a partition providing second side panel 36. As in the first form of the invention, such side panels 35 and 36 are integral with back panel 34 and connected thereto by parallel fold lines 37 and 38, respectively. Likewise, the upper edge 39 of the first side panel 35 is disposed substantially higher than the upper edge 40 of the second side panel 36. However, in this form of the invention a flap 42 comprises an integral upward extension of the upper portion of the back panel 34 and is separated therefrom by the fold line 41. To form the pocket of this for-m of the invention, the flap 42 is folded forwardly and downwardly on the fold line 41, which now comprises the upper edge of the back panel 34, so as to locate the free edge 43 of the flap below the planes of the upper edges 39 and 40 of the panels 35 and 36. The partition providing panel 36 is now folded on its fold line 38 so as to overlie the lower portion of flap 42 and the back panel 34. The pocket is completed by folding the first side panel 35 on its fold line 37 over the assembly and securing the free side and loW- er edges of the side panels to the back panel 34 by stitching or the like as in the species of Figs. 1-5. In this form of the invention, the fastener elements 25 and 26 have been omitted, but it is obvious that they could be included if desired. As an alternative structure the upper portions of the flap 42 are secured to the back panel 34 by short lines of stitching 44 which extend short distances downwardly along opposite sides of the fiap from the upper edge 41 of the back panel 34, Fig. 6. This arrangement allows the flap 42 to be pulled out of the pocket and to permit an object to be inserted into the compartment 51 under the flap. However, to do this a noticeable pull must be exerted on the garment which if unauthorized will attract the garment wearers attention. As in the first form of the invention the flap is made of lining material which necessitates making the entire blank of such material.

It is apparent from the foregoing, that in both species of the invention there has been provided an outer pocket compartment 30 or 59 which is available for normal use and an inner or concealed pick-proof pocket compartment 31 or 51 which not only maybe utilized to secure objects against theft but also provides means for securing elongated objects against accidental loss whereby to accomplish the objects of the invention.

While the pockets 13 and 33 have been shown as inside coat pockets, it is clear that the principle involved is equally applicable to other types of garment pockets. Moreover, while I have shown and described what are now thought to be the preferred forms of the invention it is to be understood thatthe same is susceptible of other embodiments and expressions. Consequently, I do not limit myself to the precise species and structures shown and described hereinabove except as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

In a body garment formed with a pocket opening having upper and lower edges, the combination with said garment and opening; of a pocket, said pocket comprising a back panel of maximum height, a first side panel of minimum height integral with one side of said back panel, a second side panel of intermediate height integral with the opposite side of said back panel, said back panel having an upper portion, means on said upper portion of said back panel providing a downwardly and forwardly extending flap, said upper portion of said back panel including an upper edge, said upper edge being secured to said garment above said opening, said first side panel being folded over said back panel and flap to form an inner pocket compartment, said side second panel being folded over said back panel and said first side panel to form an outer pocket compartment, said second side panel having an upper edge secured to said garment inwardly thereof and in substantially flush relation with said lower edge of said opening, said first side panel hav-. ing a free upper edge disposed below said opening, said flap having a free lower edge underlapping said upper edge of said first side panel, said first side panel including an inner surface, separable fastener means readily detachably connecting said free lower edge of said flap to said inner surface of said first side panel, and said side panels each having a side and a lower edge secured to said back panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 180,372 Phillipson July 25, 1876 231,618 Rosenberg Aug. 24, 1880 555,433 Curran Feb. 25, 1896 931,473 Pensalek Aug. 17, 1909 1,108,124 Bloomen'stein Aug. 25, 1914 1,397,729 Franklin Nov. 22, 1921 1,571,847 Lesser Feb. 2, 1926 2,407,888 Lesser Sept. 17, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 518,559 Great Britain Feb. 29, 1940 

